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Report: Thunder's Jackson opted for no extension to pursue starting job

Greg Smith / USA Today Sports

Reggie Jackson wants to be a starter, and he was willing to eschew a long-term contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder to search for a starting gig.

Friday's deadline for rookie contracts to be extended will pass without Jackson's signature on a deal, meaning he'll become a restricted free agent after the summer. His goal is to find a starting job on the open market, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

Wojnarowski cites league executives who describe Jackson as eager to hit the market. Working in Jackson's favor more than most RFAs is that the Thunder work on a tight budget, so if Jackson can land a substantial offer sheet, the Thunder may not be able to match to keep him.

It raises the question as to how much the Thunder value Jackson as a bench contributor, or if they'll try starting him alongside Russell Westbrook to appease him. For the next month or more, Jackson will start with Westbrook on the shelf, an opportunity he got for 36 games last season, too. 

In those games, Jackson averaged 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists, numbers matched by only 17 players in the league over all of last season. He'll have a chance to audition for the league over the next month, once he makes his return from a sore ankle that kept him out of the team's first two games.

The Thunder are in an interesting spot with their core pieces over the next few years. Jackson will be a restricted free agent in 2015, Kevin Durant can hit the market in 2016 and Westbrook and Serge Ibaka can become free agents in 2017. Jackson, too, could opt to try and hit the market in 2017, should he sign a two-year deal with a third-year option as some expect.

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